Nonlinear gauge interactions: A possible solution to the “measurement problem” in quantum mechanics

Two fundamental and unsolved problems in physics are as follows: (i) the resolution of the “measurement problem” in quantum mechanics and (ii) the quantization of strongly nonlinear (non-Abelian) gauge theories. The aim of this paper is to suggest that these two problems might be linked and that a mutual simultaneous solution to both might exist. We propose that the mechanism responsible for the “collapse of the wave function” in quantum mechanics is the nonlinearities already present in the theory via non-Abelian gauge interactions. Unlike all other models of spontaneous collapse, our proposal is, to the best of our knowledge, the only one that does not introduce any new elements into the theory. A possible experimental test of the model would be to compare the coherence lengths—here defined as the distance over which the quantum mechanical superposition is still valid—e.g., electrons and photons in a double-slit experiment. The electrons should have a finite coherence length, while photons should have a much longer coherence length (in principle infinite, if gravity–a very weak effect indeed unless we approach the Planck scale–is ignored).